Synopsis

Both man and myth, Hercules leads a band of mercenaries to help end a bloody civil war in the land of Thrace and return the rightful king to his throne. A tormented soul from birth, Hercules has the strength of a God but feels the suffering of a human.

Christmas shopping season is definitely here. This week there is a flood of Christmas releases, as well as full-series TV on DVD Megasets. On the other hand, there isn't a flood of contenders for Pick of the Week. The biggest release of the week is Maleficent and I really liked the movie more than the average critic, but I don't think the DVD or Blu-ray Combo Pack is Pick of the Week material. A Most Wanted Man is a better movie, but the DVD or Blu-ray release is weak. The same is true of Land Ho! on Blu-ray Combo Pack and The One I Love on DVD or Blu-ray. I haven't seen White Collar: Season 5 yet, but given the previous seasons, the DVD is Pick of the Week contender. I'm going with that selection and hopefully when the DVD arrives I won't regret that decision.
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Annabelle rose from fifth to first place on the international market with $26.5 million in 62 markets for an international total of $126.7 million after a month of release. Obviously there will be another installment in this franchise. This past weekend, the film dominated Latin America earning first place in Mexico with $7.61 million on 2,742 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $10.87 million. This was double the original film's opening in that market. The film also earned top spot in Argentina ($1.4 million on 202 screens) and in Peru ($1.3 million). The film was pushed into second place in Brazil, but still managed $2.13 million on 388 screens over the weekend for a three-week total of $11.35 million.
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Just as it did on the domestic chart, The Maze Runner earned first place on the international chart. It did so with $38.0 million in 51 markets for an early total of $50.7 million. Its biggest market was Russia, where it placed first with $5.59 million on 1,748 screens, while South Korea was close behind with $4.88 million on 648 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $5.41 million. It also earned first place in Australia with $3.19 million on 305 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $3.31 million. The final major market debut of the weekend was Brazil, where it earned first place with $1.96 million on 316 screens. It slipped to second place in Mexico with $1.73 million on 996 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $5.92 million.
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Since this time last week, Lucy topped $200 million internationally. Considering a significant number of people thought it wouldn't reach $200 million worldwide, this is a great result. Over the weekend, it remained in first place with $24.9 million in 59 markets for totals of $230.6 million internationally and $354.1 million worldwide. The film opened in first place in Russia with $9.77 million on 1,013 screens, which was more than $9 million more than the second place film.
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Lucy reclaimed top spot on the international chart with $26 million in 54 markets for totals of $193 million internationally and $314 million worldwide. I don't think a lot of people thought this movie would reach $300 million worldwide, so this is a great run. The film opened in second place in South Korea with $7 million, but includes weekday numbers. The film remained in first place in the U.K. with $1.96 million on 506 screens over the weekend for a total of $17.26 million after three weeks of release. Lucy opens in Russia and China this weekend and could remain in first place.
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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes rose from eighth to first place thanks to its debut in China. Overall, the film made $51.2 million in 29 markets for totals of $408.0 million internationally and $613.3 million worldwide. It dominated the box office in China with $45.13 million and if it has any legs in this market, it will reach $500 million internationally and $750 million worldwide is within reach after its run in Japan.
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Lucy rocketed to first place with 34.0 million in 42 markets for totals of $104.4 million internationally and $218.1 million worldwide. Its biggest opening of the weekend came from Taiwan, where the movie opened with $6.2 million on 88 screens. The film also opened in first place in the U.K. with $5.10 million on 486 screens and in Spain with $3.32 million on 387. More impressively, it remained in first place in France with $4.43 million in 615 screens over the weekend for a total of $29.93 million after three weeks of release.

It's a slow and shallow week on the home market. Not only are there no prime releases, we quickly run into filler as we look down the list of best selling new releases on Amazon.com. The biggest release of the week is Muppets Most Wanted, which is one of nine reviews on this week's list. It is also the best release of the week and the best choice for Pick of the Week. Next week should be more interesting, as TV on DVD season begins.
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Guardians of the Galaxy opened in first place internationally with $67.4 million in 42 markets. This includes a number of major markets, led by Russia with $12.90 million on 2,097 screens and the U.K. with $10.70 million on 554 screens. It also earned first place in Brazil with $5.27 million on 472 screens. It wasn't as strong in South Korea with $3.83 million on 575 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $4.78 million. There was a massive local release in that market, so that partially explains that result. The film also opened in second place in Australia with $2.15 million on 244 screens, but this was just the film's previews.
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Finally! Finally we have a week where there's nothing but good news to talk about. Guardians of the Galaxy crushed high expectations breaking the August records for biggest day and biggest weekend. While Guardians dominated at the box office chart, Get On Up did okay in the counter-programming role. This helped the overall box office soar, rising 20% when compared to last weekend to $186 million. More importantly, this was 35% better that this weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2014 is still behind 2013 $6.26 billion to $6.62 billion, but the gap was closed a little bit at $360 million or 5.4%.
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It was a big, big weekend at the box office with Guardians of the Galaxy pulling in an estimated $94 million. The majority of analysts thought it would break the August weekend record, but very few thought it would have one of the top five openings of the year. Additionally, the film earned some of the best reviews of the year and could become the biggest hit of the year... at least untill Mockingjay, Part 1 hits theaters in November. Get On Up did not do as well earning $14.03 million and grabbing third place along the way. This is barely more than Jersey Boys opened with in June. Its reviews should help it earn better legs and it wasn't an expensive movie to make, so the studio should be relatively happy with this start.
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Guardians of the Galaxy will likely become the biggest hit of this August. It might become the biggest hit of any August. The buzz is powerful, as are the reviews, and this could add up to a record-breaking opening. It isn't the only film opening wide, as Get On Up is also coming out this weekend. That film is a biopic of James Brown and it is earning stellar reviews, but will be limited to the counter-programming role. This weekend last year, the box office was led by 2 Guns, which made $27.06 million during the weekend. Guardians of the Galaxy should make more than that during its opening day. It looks like 2014 should finally end the slump it is in.
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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes rose to first place on the international chart with $54.8 million on 12,247 screens in 61 markets for a total of $186.7 million after three weeks of release. Worldwide, the film's running tally rose to $359.2 million, which is still about $120 million away from topping the previous installment, but at this pace, it is practically inevitable that it will get there. This week, the film earned first place in Brazil with $6.86 million on 453 screens for a total opening of $9.10 million, or a two-week total of $9.10 million, depending on what sources you look at. Likewise, it either opened in first place in Mexico, or rose to first place in Mexico earning $6.90 million on 2,392 screens over the weekend for a total of $12.99 million. The film remained in first place in the U.K. with $6.37 million on 574 screens for a two-week total of $28.90 million.
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There were two truly wide new releases that came out this weekend, and both of them did very well. In fact, Hercules placed second and earned as much as some people predictedLucy would earn while placing first. Lucy topped the high end of expectations and unless its legs are really short, will easily become a surprise $100 million hit. This helped the overall box office rise 3.7% from last weekend up to $155 million, which is a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, the weekend total was still down 10% from this weekend last year, meaning the 2014 slump continues. It has gotten so bad that 2014 is now behind 2013 by 6.1% at $6.01 billion to $6.40 billion. Next weekend should finally end the slump, but it might be too late to save 2014 overall.
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This weekend’s boys versus girls box office match-up has proven to be a triumph for the girls, with Lucy enjoying a decisive win over Hercules. The Scarlett Johansson/Luc Besson sci-fi thriller will post an opening around $44 million, according to Universal’s Sunday estimate, which is almost exactly 50% more than the $29 million debut projected for Hercules. The difference in budgets between the two films is even starker with Hercules clocking in at around $100 million, and Lucy reportedly closer to $40 million.
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There are a trio of wide releases coming out this week, sort of. The first of these, if we go alphabetically is And So It Goes, but it is only opening in 1,762 theaters, which is not quite enough to be wide and likely not enough to reach the top five. Hercules and Lucy are both opening truly wide and both are earning reviews that are currently in the overall positive level. (Although it is close enough that it might change.) Lucy will very likely come out on top, while Hercules should earn second place. There's one more film of note, The Fluffy Movie, which is opening in 400 theaters and has a slim chance at making the top ten. This weekend last year saw the release of The Wolverine, which opened with $53.11 million. There's a chance the top two films won't make that much this year. In other words, 2014 is going to lose in the year-over-year comparison yet again.
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Overall, June was not good. Most films matched expectations, or came close enough that there weren't major disappointments. However, it looks like How to Train Your Dragon 2 will miss expectations by more than $100 million. This was such a massive amount that 2014 lost its lead over 2013 and not even Transformers: Age of Extinction's $100 million opening was able to turn things around. Looking forward to July, there's not a lot of good news. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes might be the only film coming out during July that will reach the $100 million milestone, but on the high end, it might reach the $200 million mark. There are a few others that have a shot, but are not favored to reach the century mark. On the other hand, there are more films that may or may not open / expand wide and even if they do, they will likely have no real impact at the box office. By comparison, last July, Despicable Me 2 was the top draw and finished with more than $350 million. There were also four other films that surpassed $100 million at the box office. It seems practically impossible for 2014 to match those numbers and will likely finish the month behind last year's pace. Overall, 2014 isn't doing poorly, but the summer has been much weaker than the spring was, so we've gone from potential record breaking year to merely average.

The shaded area represents the expected performance range for a film, based on its opening weekend box office. 95% of films fall within the shaded area. If a film trends towards the top end of the shaded area, it has good legs compared to the average film; if it trends towards the bottom end of the shaded area, it has poor legs. The predictive area is based on movies from the past 5 years.

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